1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to food product arrangements and, more particularly, relates to a method and apparatus for assembling food product display arrangements such as fresh fruit displays.
2. Related Art
Generally speaking, it is well known to purchase and gift food product arrangements such as fruit baskets for special occasions. As a vendor, it is desirable to assemble such product arrangements in an efficient and cost effective manner, to provide quality food products and other components within the arrangement, and to ensure that the finished arrangement is visually interesting and aesthetically pleasing. As can be appreciated, design and preparation of such an arrangement is a skilled task. Not only is skill involved in selecting quality products, but also in placing the products within the arrangement. When building a brand identity, for example, once a successful design of an arrangement is produced, it is desirable to ensure that subsequent arrangements are prepared in a consistent manner to achieve substantially the same overall impression. Accordingly, training and experience is required.
As noted above, other components are commonly used in a food product display, such as, for example, paper and/or plastic wrap, stands and support structure to allow assembly of the food product arrangement in accordance with a particular design form. It is desirable for one or more support structures to be included in an arrangement so that one or more food products may be displayed at certain angles to highlight or feature the product. In food product displays, it is preferred that all such wrap, stands and structure are food safe, that is, edible or at least items that do not release harmful agents. To avoid even an appearance of a harmful component, food product arrangements often use other food products that are known to be safe to consume such as, for example, lettuce, within the food product displays to support and/or feature other food products. For example, a head of lettuce or portion thereof, may be used to at least partially fill a container that holds the food products in the arrangement. Some perceived difficulties in using some types of food products as supports in the display is the need to keep a sufficient quantity of that food product on hand in a fresh and aesthetically pleasing condition. For some food products such as lettuce, for example, price and availability varies through out the calendar year.
The inventor has found that the conventional use of lettuce as a support is inefficient and at times, cost prohibitive. Unlike other product displays, such as floral displays which use a foam material typically referred to as florist foam, a food safe alternative does not exist. Having recognized this need, the inventor has developed a food safe foam material for use as a support that is an improvement over prior art supports as well as a method for using the material in the assemble of decorative food product displays.